Anyone Know Any Clan Davidson Legends?

Hi
Was wondering if anyone knew any old tales relating to Clan Davidson. Am trying to start gathering the oral history of the Scottish Clans, and plotting their location on a Clan map. This will all be put in a new area on the www.scotclans.com site.

Please let me know of any you've heard.

Thanks
Amanda

Hi Amanda, all I have is as written below.
The Battle of the Clans
One of the strangest conflicts in Scotland's conflict-crowded history was the Battle of North Inch in 1396 – a battle that would have been almost comic if not for the very real loss of life involved.
The battle climaxed ten years of bitter feuding between Clan Chattan and Clan MacPherson.  No cruel insult launched this feud, or even the usual incidents of rape, pillage or plunder.  The uproar was about something as mundane as unpaid rent.  The resulting battle called The Battle of Invernhaven started a feud between these two clans ten years prior.
Everyone involved became weary of the dispute; not weary enough to end it, of course, but weary enough to ask King Robert III to intervene.  King Robert III, being the sort of sovereign who made sure his own interests ranked first in any dispute he settled, came up with an ingenious solution.  Each of the two clans, Davidson and MacPherson, were to send 30 of their best warriors into a battle-to-the-death.  The place was a beautiful, level field (an 'inch' in Gaelic) called North Inch in Perth.  This move made King Robert III the first and last king in Scots history to have a battle-to-the-death staged for his amusement.
Historians, however, have theorized there may have been more than amusement in Robert's planning.  The trouble-someness of the two clans would be greatly reduced. He is believed to have thought, if their main warriors were permanently removed from action.
Because the Battle of North Inch was recorded rather sketchily, six clans are said to have taken part in it, all claiming they were the winners.  But the majority of historic references indicate those who took part in this combat were the MacPhersons and Clan Chattan, of whom the Davidsons of Invernahaven were a part.
The conflict was set for the Monday before Michaelmas, October 23.  As to weapons, some historians say only the broadsword was used, but others say that bows, battle-axes and daggers were also permitted.  This view would be supported by the following account of the event.
Royal carpenters had been busy building a grandstand from which the king, his queen, Annabella Drummond, Scots nobles and a number of foreign dignitaries could view the proceedings.  On the selected day, the king and queen led a procession to the grandstand.  Following them were the nobility and honored foreign guests.  With the grandstands jammed with the upper classes, the commoners packed the sidelines behind barriers designed to keep them off the field of battle.
The combatants – the MacPhersons and the clan Chattan-Davidsons – marched in; each preceded by their pipes and drummers and armed with their swords, targes, bows and arrows, knives and battle-axes.  Each side glared at the other until something happened. 
Exactly what happened depends on which historian's account is read.  Some say one of the MacPhersons became sick.  Others say the MacPherson in question wasn't sick but stricken with a bout of common sense – he slipped through the crowd, plunged into the Tay and swam away, pursued in vain by thousands of screaming spectators.  One historian, Sir Robert Gordan, described it this way:  'At their entry into the field, Clan Chattan lacked one of their number, who was privily stolen away, not willing to be a partaker of so dear a bargain.'
What to do, what to do?  That was the question to which no answer seemed obvious.  Somebody proposed one of the Davidson men should retire.  Nobody liked that idea.  For want of another, the King was about ready to break up the assembly when a man stepped forward and spoke.
This man was described by a historian as 'diminutive and crooked, but fierce, named Henry Wynd, a burgher of Perth, a smith,' known to readers of Sir Walter Scott as 'Hal o' the Wynd, and an armorer by trade.'  He was also known as Henry Gow or Smith.
This man is said to have leapt the barriers onto the field and addressed the crowd:  'Here am I.  Will anyone fee me to engage with these hirelings in this stage play?  For half a mark will I try the game, provided, if I escape alive, I have my board of one of you as long as I live.  Greater love, as it is said, hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.  What, then, shall be my reward, who stake my life for the foes of commonwealth and realm?'
An excited buzz of conversation likely broke out in the upper class grandstand as well as among the commons standing around the barriers.  Knowing the crowd was wild for entertainment, the king and nobles agreed to the demand of 'Gow Crom,' or 'Crooked Smith,' as he was commonly known.
News that the blood letting was on again was likely greeted with a huge cheer from the presumably entertainment-starved crowd.  The battle began.
The smith shot the first arrow into the Davidsons and immediately killed one of them.  According to one historian, 'After showers of arrows had been discharged on both sides, the combatants, with fury in their looks, and revenge in their hearts, rushed upon one another, and a terrific scene ensued, which appalled the heart of many a valorous knight who witnessed the bloody tragedy.  The violent thrusts of the daggers and the tremendous gashes inflicted by the two-handed swords and battle-axes, hastened the work of butchery and death.
'Heads were cloven asunder, limbs were lopped from the trunk.  The meadow was soon flooded with blood, and covered with dead and wounded men.'   The crowd loved it, of course.
But after Henry Wynd had killed his man, he supposedly either sat down or drew aside. The MacPherson battle leader noticed this and asked Wynd why he stopped when he was doing such a good job of slaying the opposition.
To this Wynd replied, probably airily, 'Because I have fulfilled my bargain, and earned my wages.'
The MacPherson leader showed himself to be a motivator of men by observing, 'The man who keeps no reckoning of his good deeds, without reckoning shall be repaid.'  The comment inspired Wynd to leap into action again and take the lives of several more opponents.
Finally, the MacPhersons were declared the winners.  Some 29 Davidsons and 19 MacPhersons were dead with the remaining MacPhersons severely wounded.  Only Henry Wynd escaped without serious injury, his excellent swordsmanship clearly contributing to the day's victory.
Did he receive his promised payment?  History does not record this detail, but it is hard to imagine Henry Wynd being cheated out of whatever he considered his just desserts.  Clan Chattan leadership, however, knew a good man when they saw one.  They adopted Henry Wynd (or Gow or Smith) into their clan.  As the progenitor of the Gow or Smith branch of the clan, his name remains an honored one today.
And for several years following the Battle of North Inch, things remained quiet in the Highlands, at least relatively quiet for the Highlands.

Hope this has been of some assistance for you!
Kind Regards Jim

Brigadier General William Lee Davidson

Active in the war from its inception as adjutant to General Griffith Rutherford during the Snow Campaign in December 1775, he was promoted to major of the in 1776. He marched with the North Carolina line to the north and was at the Battle of Germantown, after which he was promoted to Lt. Colonel of theFifth Regiment of the North Carolina Line. At Valley Forge with Washington, 'Light Horse Harry Lee', Daniel Morgan and others, he became friends with most of the influential military commanders in the Continental Line. Left without a command he had been ordered out for the purpose of preventing the British from crossing the Catawba. Griffith Rutherford appointed Davidson his second in command. Severely wounded at the Battle of Colson's Mill on July 21, 1780, he did not participate in the Battle of Camden at which Rutherford was captured. Davidson was promoted to brigadier general and given command of Rutherford's Salisbury District militia. He participated in resisting the entry of Lord Cornwallis into Charlotte in late September 1780. He was killed at the Battle of Cowan's Ford in Mecklenberg County, North Carolina on February 1, 1781 while opposing the re-entry of Cornwallis into North Carolina. Davidson's body was recovered after the battle and was buried at Hopewell Presbyterian Church located on Beatties Ford Road North of Charlotte.
Namesakes:
Davidson County, North Carolina
Davidson County, Tennessee
Town of Davidson, North Carolina
Davidson College in North Carolina

Regards Jim

Hello Amanda,
I found another one! :)

Clan wars


Davidson. A Victorian depiction of the clan painted by R.R. Mc Ian.
The Battle of Invernahaven 1370 or 1387. The Clan Cameron numbering approximately 400 men were returning home with the booty they had acquired after a raid at Badenoch. They were overtaken at Invernahaven by a body of Clan Chattan Confederation led by Lachlan, Laird of Macintosh. The Clan Chattan forces consisted of the Macintoshes, Davidsons and Macphersons. As a result of a disagreement as to whether the Davidsons or Macphersons would occupy the right wing which was the post of honour, the Macphersons withdrew in disgust from the army. The combined numbers of the Clan Chattan confederation had outnumbered the Camerons but with the loss of the Macphersons the Camerons now had a greater number. The battle resulted in a defeat for the Clan Chattan Confederation (Mackintosh and Davidson). It is said that an ally of Cameron known as Charles MacGilony led the clan into battle and is believed to have changed the outcome of the day with his uncanny ability as an archer. At this point, possibly the next morning the Macphersons changed their minds and decided to rejoin the Chattan confederation attacking the Camerons with such vigor that they changed the victory into defeat, and put the Camerons "to flight" towards Drumouchter, skirting the end of Loch Ericht, and then westwards in the direction of the River Treig. The MacKintoshes later claimed that the Macphersons were coaxed into the battle by a man from clan Mackintosh who turned up at Macphersons camp pretending to be from Clan Cameron and calling the Macphersons cowards. The Macphersons then attacked the Camerons camp making a dreadful slaughter of them, even killing the Cameron's uncanny archer Charles MacGilony at a place now called Charles's Valley, or in Gailic Coire Thearlaich.
The Clan Davidson were led by Chief Sir Robert Davidson at the Battle of Harlaw in 1411 where he was slain.

Cheers Jim

Battle Name: Harlaw Date: 24th July 1411



HARLAW

1 SUMMARY

1.1 CONTEXT

In origin the battle of Harlaw was a feudal dispute but must be viewed in the context of growing conflict between Highland and Lowland. The situation was also complicated by the fact that King James I was imprisoned in England and thus royal authority was weak. Donald, Lord of the Isles, having fought for control of Ross, now planned to strike south east into Moray, towards Aberdeen. But there was substantial warning of the impending campaign and so defensive preparations were put in hand by the Earl of Mar in the spring and early summer of 1411.

In the medieval period the main road from Inverness to Aberdeen probably followed broadly the route of the A96. It appears that it was along this route that the Highland forces approached Moray. As soon as he was aware of the approach of the Highland forces, Mar marshalled his troops at Inverurie, which controlled the route. The exact line of the road to the north of Inverurie ran on the north side of the river Urie and it was 2km north west of the bridge over the river, just north of Inverurie, that the Highland forces camped on the rdthnight of the 23 July, on high ground near Harlaw. On the morning of the 24 the Earl of Mar marched out of Inverurie to engage the Highland army.

1.2 ACTION

Mar approach from the south east. The action seems to have been fought on foot and with each army probably deployed in three ‘battles', the infantry arranged in ‘schiltrons', closely ordered ranks of spearmen. There is no reference to significant numbers of archers and it seems that Mar kept his knights as a cavalry reserve. It appears to have been an intense and close run fight but the sources provide little detail and there is even conflict over the outcome, with both sides claiming victory. What is clear is that Aberdeen was successfully defended and the Highland forces departed without causing significant destruction in the region.

1.3 TROOPS

Numbers:

Highland: 10,000 according to the ballads but probably far less. Lowland: several thousand including significant numbers of armoured knights.

Losses:

The ballads claim 900 Highland and 600 Lowland losses.

1.4 COMMEMORATION & INTERPRETATION A grave marker commemorating Sir Gilbert de Greenlaw, who was killed in the battle, is in the churchyard at Kinkell, to the south east of Inverurie. A substantial monument was erected on the battle field, unveiled in 1914. There are also cairns on the battlefield (Drum's and Provost Davidson's cairns) which are said to be associated with the battle, while two now lost standing stones also gained association with the battle: Liggars Stane stand Donalds Tomb. All are marked on the Ordnance Survey 1 edition 6inch mapping, but it is unclear which if any have a genuine association with the battle.

2 ASSESSMENT

2.1 LOCATION

The general location of the battle is well established at the traditional site, but the primary sources provide very little detail as to the exact context, so accurately placing the troops and the action is not currently possible. Marren has made a reasonable interpretation based on the relief and the probable approximate alignment of the major medieval road from Inverness to Aberdeen, but the actual deployments shown are highly conjectural. 2.2 PRIMARY SOURCES

Harlaw is a poorly documented action for which much of the evidence is in the form of ballads, embroidered with legend. There are no significant contemporary chronicle accounts. Major's work of 1527 may have had oral tradition to draw upon but is very late. The primary sources are discussed by Marren, 1990 (p.212-3).

2.3 SECONDARY WORKS

The most modern account is that provided by Marren, 1990, which also reviews the other main secondary works (p.212-3).

2.4 BATTLE ARCHAEOLOGY

Human remains were found in 1837 to the north east of Mid Harlaw, the location marked ston the 1 edition 6inch Ordnance Survey mapping. Though these need not actually relate to the action, if they did then they might give a more accurate indication of the centre of the action, for mass graves are frequently found to concentrate in the area of initial and most intense fighting. Artefacts including a battle axe have also been found on the battlefield.

2.5 BATTLEFIELD HISTORIC TERRAIN

The ballads give a picture of the battlefield as featureless moorland, but the area today is arable fields. Though not specifically referred to in the primary accounts, the action appears to have been fought on the line of the major road from Aberdeen to Inverness. Despite its importance for the understanding of the action, no reconstruction of the historic terrain, including the road network and the extent of moorland, has apparently been attempted.

2.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BATTLE

The battle represented a stage in the escalation of Highland / Lowland conflict during the thearly 15 century, but it saw the successful defence of the Aberdeen area.

2.7 CURRENT STATE OF DEVELOPMENT The whole battlefield remains as agricultural fields. There is no modern development or evidence of mineral extraction or other modern disturbance.

2.8 CURRENT DESIGNATIONS

Balhalgardy House and Harlaw House are both listed, as is the battle monument. There are no other designations.

The area defined by Martin for battlefield conservation seems to be too tightly defined, given the many uncertainties about the exact location of the action. It even excludes the location where the human remains have been found. (2)

2.9 POTENTIAL

The potential of the battlefield is largely undetermined, because of the paucity of the documentary record.

The geology of the battlefield is wholly boulder clay but the pH of the derivative soils have not been established in the present research, so it is not possible to indicate as to whether there is a good potential for preservation of ferrous artefacts. There is no indication in the primary sources that archery played a significant role in the action and so there may not have been significant numbers of projectiles deposited which could yield shot fall patterning, but this cannot be established for certain without archaeological survey. However, given the likely intensity of the hand to hand fighting it is probable that significant numbers of non ferrous artefacts will have been deposited during the action. Thus the site may be amenable to investigation through intensive metal detecting survey, which has been shown at Towton to be an effective approach to the exploration of late medieval battlefields.

The most practical approach to advance the understanding of the battlefield, as an essential prerequisite for effective conservation and interpretation, would be to reconstruct the historic terrain, including road network, land use and plan form. Then, in the light of this evidence and the detail of relief, the existing hypotheses as to the location and extent of the action can be refined. This could then be tested by metal detecting for surviving battle archaeology.

2.10 THREATS

There is the potential for damage to unstratified battle archaeology through treasure hunting or unrecorded/poorly recorded metal detecting survey. Modern agricultural practices, including application of chemicals may also represent a substantial threat to the long term survival of unstratified metal artefacts, particularly if the longer term

Battle Name: Harlaw Date: 24th July 1411



HARLAW

1 SUMMARY

1.1 CONTEXT

In origin the battle of Harlaw was a feudal dispute but must be viewed in the context of growing conflict between Highland and Lowland. The situation was also complicated by the fact that King James I was imprisoned in England and thus royal authority was weak. Donald, Lord of the Isles, having fought for control of Ross, now planned to strike south east into Moray, towards Aberdeen. But there was substantial warning of the impending campaign and so defensive preparations were put in hand by the Earl of Mar in the spring and early summer of 1411.

In the medieval period the main road from Inverness to Aberdeen probably followed broadly the route of the A96. It appears that it was along this route that the Highland forces approached Moray. As soon as he was aware of the approach of the Highland forces, Mar marshalled his troops at Inverurie, which controlled the route. The exact line of the road to the north of Inverurie ran on the north side of the river Urie and it was 2km north west of the bridge over the river, just north of Inverurie, that the Highland forces camped on the rdthnight of the 23 July, on high ground near Harlaw. On the morning of the 24 the Earl of Mar marched out of Inverurie to engage the Highland army.

1.2 ACTION

Mar approach from the south east. The action seems to have been fought on foot and with each army probably deployed in three ‘battles', the infantry arranged in ‘schiltrons', closely ordered ranks of spearmen. There is no reference to significant numbers of archers and it seems that Mar kept his knights as a cavalry reserve. It appears to have been an intense and close run fight but the sources provide little detail and there is even conflict over the outcome, with both sides claiming victory. What is clear is that Aberdeen was successfully defended and the Highland forces departed without causing significant destruction in the region.

1.3 TROOPS

Numbers:

Highland: 10,000 according to the ballads but probably far less. Lowland: several thousand including significant numbers of armoured knights.

Losses:

The ballads claim 900 Highland and 600 Lowland losses.

1.4 COMMEMORATION & INTERPRETATION A grave marker commemorating Sir Gilbert de Greenlaw, who was killed in the battle, is in the churchyard at Kinkell, to the south east of Inverurie. A substantial monument was erected on the battle field, unveiled in 1914. There are also cairns on the battlefield (Drum's and Provost Davidson's cairns) which are said to be associated with the battle, while two now lost standing stones also gained association with the battle: Liggars Stane stand Donalds Tomb. All are marked on the Ordnance Survey 1 edition 6inch mapping, but it is unclear which if any have a genuine association with the battle.

2 ASSESSMENT

2.1 LOCATION

The general location of the battle is well established at the traditional site, but the primary sources provide very little detail as to the exact context, so accurately placing the troops and the action is not currently possible. Marren has made a reasonable interpretation based on the relief and the probable approximate alignment of the major medieval road from Inverness to Aberdeen, but the actual deployments shown are highly conjectural. 2.2 PRIMARY SOURCES

Harlaw is a poorly documented action for which much of the evidence is in the form of ballads, embroidered with legend. There are no significant contemporary chronicle accounts. Major's work of 1527 may have had oral tradition to draw upon but is very late. The primary sources are discussed by Marren, 1990 (p.212-3).

2.3 SECONDARY WORKS

The most modern account is that provided by Marren, 1990, which also reviews the other main secondary works (p.212-3).

2.4 BATTLE ARCHAEOLOGY

Human remains were found in 1837 to the north east of Mid Harlaw, the location marked ston the 1 edition 6inch Ordnance Survey mapping. Though these need not actually relate to the action, if they did then they might give a more accurate indication of the centre of the action, for mass graves are frequently found to concentrate in the area of initial and most intense fighting. Artefacts including a battle axe have also been found on the battlefield.

2.5 BATTLEFIELD HISTORIC TERRAIN

The ballads give a picture of the battlefield as featureless moorland, but the area today is arable fields. Though not specifically referred to in the primary accounts, the action appears to have been fought on the line of the major road from Aberdeen to Inverness. Despite its importance for the understanding of the action, no reconstruction of the historic terrain, including the road network and the extent of moorland, has apparently been attempted.

2.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BATTLE

The battle represented a stage in the escalation of Highland / Lowland conflict during the thearly 15 century, but it saw the successful defence of the Aberdeen area.

2.7 CURRENT STATE OF DEVELOPMENT The whole battlefield remains as agricultural fields. There is no modern development or evidence of mineral extraction or other modern disturbance.

2.8 CURRENT DESIGNATIONS

Balhalgardy House and Harlaw House are both listed, as is the battle monument. There are no other designations.

The area defined by Martin for battlefield conservation seems to be too tightly defined, given the many uncertainties about the exact location of the action. It even excludes the location where the human remains have been found. (2)

2.9 POTENTIAL

The potential of the battlefield is largely undetermined, because of the paucity of the documentary record.

The geology of the battlefield is wholly boulder clay but the pH of the derivative soils have not been established in the present research, so it is not possible to indicate as to whether there is a good potential for preservation of ferrous artefacts. There is no indication in the primary sources that archery played a significant role in the action and so there may not have been significant numbers of projectiles deposited which could yield shot fall patterning, but this cannot be established for certain without archaeological survey. However, given the likely intensity of the hand to hand fighting it is probable that significant numbers of non ferrous artefacts will have been deposited during the action. Thus the site may be amenable to investigation through intensive metal detecting survey, which has been shown at Towton to be an effective approach to the exploration of late medieval battlefields.

The most practical approach to advance the understanding of the battlefield, as an essential prerequisite for effective conservation and interpretation, would be to reconstruct the historic terrain, including road network, land use and plan form. Then, in the light of this evidence and the detail of relief, the existing hypotheses as to the location and extent of the action can be refined. This could then be tested by metal detecting for surviving battle archaeology.

2.10 THREATS

There is the potential for damage to unstratified battle archaeology through treasure hunting or unrecorded/poorly recorded metal detecting survey. Modern agricultural practices, including application of chemicals may also represent a substantial threat to the long term survival of unstratified metal artefacts, particularly if the longer term

opps! Sorry about that!